Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/268240
EquipmentWorld.com | March 2014 11 reporter | by Equipment World staff P ickup buyers will fi - nally have a standard- ized way to compare tow ratings between brands as Ford accepts the SAE J2807 towing standard when the 2015 F-150 hits the market later this year. It's been at least six years since a group of automotive towing engineers from the various manufacturers sat down and started hammer- ing out a standard way to evaluate tow ratings. The new tow testing standard was called "SAE J2807" and it contained a specifi c and detailed set of guidelines that would put all vehicles on the same page, giving consumers a true apples-to-apples com- parison. J2807 was supposed to be adopted by all the ve- hicle manufacturers in 2009 with implementation by 2013. Toyota, Nissan and Ram have done just that. But GM and Ford came to a stalemate of sorts. GM, a big player in the J2807 structuring, decided to wait until Ford joined in. Ford wasn't willing to derate any of their ratings as happened to some of the other manufacturers who adopted J2807 test standards. Now that Ford has their 2015 pickups ready to roll with the aluminum-bodied F-150s – which make the truck 700 pounds lighter – they have made that towing and gross vehicle weight-rating standardization move. As a result, next year J2807 will be the new tow standard across all the vehicle manufacturers. – Bruce W. Smith Briefs Cat expands Corinth engine plant Caterpillar has completed a $14.8 million expansion at its large engine manufacturing plant and warehouse in Corinth, Mississippi. Cat makes the 42,000-pound, 20-cylinder, 4,000-horsepower C175 engine at the Corinth plant. The reman plant will add 30 new employees to staff the expansion. Pickup tow ratings fi nally standardized